Sly Stone, the singer-songwriter who rose to fame with the band Sly and the Family Stone, has died. He was 82.
“After a prolonged battle with COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend and his extended family,” a statement from his family read, per Variety.
“While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.”
Stone’s family also shared that he “recently completed the screenplay for his life story, a project we are eager to share with the world in due course.”
The group rose to fame with the 1969 smash hit “Dance to the Music.”
Stone, born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, was the second of five children. His parents, K.C. and Alpha Stewart, were both deeply religious and raised their children as such.
Growing up, Stone, his brother Freddie, and two sisters, Loretta and Rose, formed the Stewart Four. Together, they performed gospel music and locally released the single, “On the Battlefield.”
Considered a child prodigy, Stone had mastered the keyboard at seven years old. By 11, he had become proficient at the guitar, bass, and drums as well.
In 1966, Stone and Freddie, who had been performing in separate bands, Sly and the Stoners and Freddie & the Stone Souls, respectively, decided to merge the two groups, creating Sly and the Family Stone.
With Stone as the lead singer, Freddie on guitar and vocals, their sister Rose on vocals and keyboard, Cynthia Robinson on trumpet, Greg Errico on drums, Jerry Martini on saxophone, and Larry Graham on bass, the band released their debut album, A Whole New Thing, in 1967.
While the album was mildly received, it did feature their first hit single, “Dance to the Music,” which they later included on their 1968 album of the same name.
It wasn’t until their fourth album, Stand!, released in 1969, that they became a major success. It went on to sell more than three million copies and produced their number one hit single, “Everyday People.”
Sly and the Family Stone began touring shortly after their 1969 rise to fame. They even welcomed Bob Marley and his group, The Wailers, to open for one of their shows in 1973.
The group lasted until the mid-1970s, when Stone’s drug use and erratic behavior effectively ended it. He went on to record several unsuccessful solo albums.
His drug use additionally broke up his marriage to Kathy Silva, with whom he shared his first child, Sylvester Jr. The pair had only been married six months before Silva filed for divorce in 1974, accusing him of drug abuse and spousal violence. Their divorce wasn’t finalized until a couple of years later, shortly after it emerged that Stone had fathered a daughter, Sylvette, with his bandmate Robinson.
He later welcomed his third child, daughter Novena Carmel, in 1982.
Stone’s life and legacy were recently explored in Questlove’s documentary, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), out now on Hulu.
“One of the strongest quotes from the movie is that Sly created the alphabet that we are still using to express music,” Questlove told The Philadelphia Tribune in February.
“He was the first to take advantage of being a bedroom musician, multi-track recording, the wah-wah, the drum machine, and doing everything by himself,” the music producer said. “We praise Stevie Wonder and Prince for these things, but Sly was the prototype. He also single-handedly revived hip-hop with all of the samples that came from him.”
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